BREMERTON — Pope John Paul II High School, a private Catholic school adjacent to Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, is home to fewer than 100 students.
Of that small student population, two of those students happen to be two of the most accomplished runners in Washington state in Class 1B.
Juniors Ruby Henry and Kevin Hu added to their overflowing resumes in track and field Thursday, combining to win five individual district championships at the 1B Quad District Championships at Bremerton High School.
Henry and Hu both won their third straight district titles in both the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters. Hu also picked up his first district title in the 800 meters, and Henry made up a quarter of Pope John Paul II’s girls 4x400 relay team that earned its second consecutive district title.
Neither athlete has ever finished as a runner-up at districts in the distance events, and they hold the school records in both races. But Henry has one edge over her classmate Hu: she will be defending back-to-back state championships in both the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters next week at the state meet in Yakima.
“I just want to do the very best I can. I know that I can always go faster,” Henry said. “When the postseason comes, that’s when I start to train harder and when I start to peak and zone in on all the little things. That’s when I really lock in.”
Henry led the Pope John Paul II girls to their second consecutive team title at the district meet, while Hu paced the Eagles boys to a runner-up finish.
Henry started the afternoon winning comfortably in the 3,200 meters, crossing the finish line in 11 minutes and 58.79 seconds — over a minute faster than second-place finisher Lily Warne-McGraw, also of Pope John Paul II. The 1,600-meter race was much tighter, as Henry prevailed over Warne-McGraw by just under 13 seconds at 5:27.39. In the waning moments of the meet, Henry was responsible for the final handoff during the 4x400 relay. She and Amy Kondrat, who was the finisher for the relay squad, helped Pope John Paul II rebound from a relatively slow start to the race and finish at 4:25.43, a new season best.
“I love my 4x400 team. I think that’s probably my favorite event,” Henry said. “My proudest state moment was last year when we got second [in the 4x400]. Last year, we had two seniors that graduated in Adeline Hecht and Natania Steinbrecher, and they were really special to me and it was great to be part of that team. This year, we’re kind of rotating through people, but I really love being on the team and the camaraderie. It’s something different from all the distance events I run.”
Hu’s day was packed without much of a break. His triumph in the 1,600 meters at 4:39.59 may have been a wire-to-wire victory, but his steady pace was closely shadowed by several competitors. The second-place finisher was less than four seconds behind Hu, and the fifth-place runner was only seven seconds away.
Hu then ran the 800 meters and the 3,200 meters within the span of an hour, winning both events. He had never won a district title in the 800 meters but did so in 2:02.14, and then he quickly returned to the track and barely won the 3,200 meters at 10:11.13, which was .6 seconds faster than the runner-up.
Turns out he didn’t need much time in between two wildly different races to win gold in both.
“I was mainly just resting. I didn’t really do any strides before the 3,200,” Hu said. “I knew that I could get a good time in the 3,200 if I locked in mentally. It’s pretty awesome. It just shows how much work our coach puts into us and shows what you can accomplish if you put in the work.”
Hu finished the day as the fourth runner in the 4x400 relay team that took fifth at 3:43.48, giving him state-qualifying times in four events. In Yakima next week, his goals are to reach sub-4:20 in the 1,600 meters, sub-2:00 in the 800 meters, and 9:40 in the 3,200 meters.
In between races throughout the hectic day, Henry and Hu took time to cheer each other on. They, along with Kondrat, even wound down by running laps on the track after much of the crowd had dispersed.
“It’s been really fun, especially with someone in my class. She’s a really good person, so it’s been great that two people in the same class are accomplishing really good things,” Hu said of Henry.
“I’m really proud of Kevin and all the work he’s put in. It’s cool to be able to train with him and see what he can do,” Henry said of Hu. “Running used to not be his favorite thing, so it’s fun to see how far he’s come.”
Aside from finishing off the district title-winning 4x400 relay, Kondrat broke the school record and won the top prize in the 300-meter hurdles at 47.42 seconds. The senior hurdler qualified for state in the event for the fourth time, and it’s no secret what she hopes to accomplish in Yakima.
Kondrat earned fourth place in the 300-meter hurdles as a freshman in 2023, then third in 2024 and second in 2025. All that’s left is a state title to ride off into the sunset in 2026.
“It’s like out of a storybook,” she said. “I love a good story. But I’ve gotta be grateful for today, too. Keeping a positive attitude means so much in the hurdles. Your mind is the most important thing.”
Sophomore Shaina Verona broke her own school record in the 400 meters and qualified for state for the first time in the event. She took fourth in districts at 1:03.26.
“When I was a freshman, I didn’t know that I could do such a thing. I thought I was a 100 or 200 girlie, and now I’m just aiming for the next best thing, which is this,” Verona said. “Every single race, I tell myself to chase the girl in front of me and push myself as much as I can. In the end, you don’t regret it if you gave it everything you’ve got.”
Warne-McGraw, a junior, qualified for state in the 800 meters, 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters after earning top-five finishes in all three events, including runner-up times in the two distance races. Juniors Isla Valpiani and Chloe Summers will join her and Henry at state in both the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters, and sophomore Avery Krause clinched a state berth in the 3,200 meters by finishing in seventh at districts.
The girls 4x200 relay team posted a fourth-place time of 1:53.75 to qualify for state. Senior Claire Larson, who finished in third place at last year’s state meet in discus, will return to Yakima after taking fourth in the event in districts at 105-8, a season-best throw.
The Pope John Paul II girls finished with 93 points to win the district title, with Naselle ending up right behind them at 88.5 points. The boys scored 75 points to come in second behind Evergreen Lutheran’s 106 points.
Senior hurdler Lathan Piper shined in both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles. He earned a new PR in the 110-meter hurdles at 16.39 seconds, which is now the second-best time in school history. He was the runner-up in the 300-meter hurdles at 42.49 seconds.
Junior Liam Outlaw enjoyed a stellar day on the track, notching a PR in the 3,200 meters at 10:18.38 to come in fourth. He also took fourth in the 800 meters with a season-best time of 2:06.97.
Sophomore Israel Gil earned the right to sprint at state in both the 100 meters (fourth at 12.07 seconds) and the 200 meters (sixth at 24.46 seconds), while junior Luis Cabrera Geronimo earned sixth in the 400 meters at 53.78 seconds.
Junior Martin Cooper is headed to Yakima to run in the 1,600 meters after clinching a PR of 4:53.55 Thursday. Junior high jumper Kevin King advanced to the finals with a top throw of 5-10 but couldn’t clear 6-0, settling for fourth place. He breezed through the first four heights, going 4 for 4 before reaching a halt at 6-0.
Pope John Paul II’s 4x400 relay team (fifth at 3:43.48) and Northwest Christian’s 4x100 relay team (eighth at 47.35 seconds) also qualified for state.
